1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices for preventing the accidental or unintentional discharge of a firearm, and particularly to an active locking mechanism that may be installed on handguns, rifles, or other firearms having a clip or magazine and an exposed breech area.
2. Prior Art
Various types of active locking mechanisms for firearms are known. These mechanisms include: (1) bore locks which require the insertion of a lockable bar through the bore or barrel of the firearm, (2) trigger guard locks that enclose the trigger guard area to prevent insertion of a finger or block rearward movement of the trigger itself, and (3) frame-mounted locks which integrate an active locking mechanism into one or more operations of the firearm, such as the manual safety, hammer drawback or drop, or magazine insertion.
Representative examples of various frame-mounted active locking mechanisms are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,673,725 to Cravener; U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,622 to Perlotto; U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,123 to Williams; U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,475 to Centille; U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,420 to Von Muller; U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,431 to Allan; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,140,766; 5,090,148; and 4,987,693 to Brooks.
The art relating to bore locks includes various breech locks and breech stops designed for insertion into the breech of a firearm, usually with a retractable pin or plug projecting forwardly into the breech end of the barrel and sometimes rearwardly to engage the breech block, frame, or slide. Representative examples of various in bore and breech blocking locking mechanisms are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,272 to McKinlay; U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,963 to Hermann; U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,356 to Jarvinen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,762 to Nilsson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,496 to Johnson; U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,236 to Del Real; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,894 to Libassi.
The field of frame-mounted locks include various locking mechanisms that interact with both the frame and magazine of the firearm to hold the magazine in place while the lock is engaged and to prevent loading or discharging the firearm. These locking mechanisms may also include a magazine plug that obstructs the loading or passage of ammunition through or from a tubular, stacked, or drum magazine. Representative examples of various in magazine locking mechanisms are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,532,729 and 5,241,769 to Von Muller.
Each of the locking mechanisms described above is relatively complicated, expensive to manufacture, or requires modification of the firearm in order to install or to incorporate the locking mechanism into the frame or magazine of the firearm.